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EDITOR’S NOTE: Saturday Down South’s references to recruiting rankings are to 247Sports.com industry composite ranking.
During this past season, Tennessee started 11 freshmen from its 2014 recruiting class. Of the Vols’ 71 players that appeared in the season opener, 32 were freshmen. The previous record for freshman debuts in Week 1 was 12 in 2010.
Head coach Butch Jones signed a top-5 recruiting class in 2014, despite finishing the previous season with a 5-7 record. The Vols look to continue that success in 2015 with an improved record coming off a TaxSlayer Bowl victory.
Tennessee added four-star prospect Kyle Phillips during the 2014 U.S. Army All-American Bowl. The Nashville native ranks as the No. 110 overall player, No. 8 strong-side defensive end and the No. 2 player from Tennessee for the 2015 class.
Kahlil McKenzie, son of former Vols great and current Oakland Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie, highlights Tennessee’s current class. McKenzie is a top-10 prospect who improved his stock after a stellar showing at The Opening in July.
Here’s a look at the Vols’ current 2015 recruiting class.
| NAT RANK | PLAYER | H.S. (CITY, STATE) | STAR | POS | HGT | WGT |
| 10 | Kahlil McKenzie | Clayton Valley (Concord, CA) | 5 | DT | 6’4” | 319 |
| 29 | Preston Williams | Lovejoy (Hampton, GA) | 5 | WR | 6’4” | 191 |
| 41 | Shy Tuttle | North Davidson (Lexington, NC) | 4 | DT | 6’3” | 311 |
| 110 | Kyle Phillips | Hillsboro (Nashville, TN) | 4 | SDE | 6’3.5” | 250 |
| 136 | Jack Jones | Oakland (Murfreesboro, TN) | 4 | OT | 6’5” | 290 |
| 173 | Jauan Jennings | Blackman (Murfreesboro, TN) | 4 | DUAL | 6’4” | 188 |
| 191 | Darrin Kirkland Jr. | Lawrence Central (Indianapolis, IN) | 4 | ILB | 6’1” | 223 |
| 191 | Micah Abernathy | Greater Atlanta Christian School (Norcross, GA) | 4 | CB | 6’1” | 187 |
| 233 | Andrew Butcher | Alpharetta (Alpharetta, GA) | 4 | SDE | 6’2” | 242 |
| 260 | Darrell Taylor | Hopewell (Hopewell, VA) | 4 | WDE | 6’4” | 230 |
| 347 | Kendall Bussey | Isidore Newman (New Orleans, LA) | 3 | RB | 5’8” | 205 |
| 350 | Quinten Dormady | Boerne (Boerne, TX) | 3 | PRO | 6’3” | 210 |
| 355 | Venzell Boulware | Creekside (Fairburn, GA) | 3 | OT | 6’4” | 295 |
| 446 | Quay Picou | Buford (Buford, GA) | 3 | DT | 6’3″ | 287 |
| 479 | Marques Ford | East Bay (Gibsonton, FL) | 3 | SDE | 6’4” | 220 |
| 489 | Zach Stewart | Coalfield School (Coalfield, TN) | 3 | OT | 6’4″ | 295 |
| 630 | Kyle Oliver | Oakland (Murfreesboro, TN) | 3 | TE | 6’5″ | 230 |
| 676 | Chance Hall | Northside (Roanoke, VA) | 3 | OT | 6’5” | 290 |
| 724 | Stephen Griffin | South Mecklenburg (Charlotte, NC) | 3 | S | 6’3″ | 189 |
| 741 | Darrell Miller | Cedar Hill (Cedar Hill, TX) | 3 | CB | 5’10” | 171 |
| 745 | Austin Smith | Buford (Buford, GA) | 3 | OLB | 6’3.5″ | 230 |
| 785 | Vincent Perry | Hillsboro (Nashville, TN) | 3 | APB | 5’11” | 170 |
| N/A | Jocquez Bruce | South Doyle (Knoxville, TN) | 3 | ATH | 5’10” | 260 |
| N/A | Tommy Townsend | Boone (Orlando, FL) | 3 | P | 6’1″ | 240 |
| N/A | Riley Lovingwood | Beech (Hendersonville, TN) | 2 | LS | 6’1″ | 240 |
| JUCO 3 | Alvin Kamara | Hutchinson C.C. (Hutchinson, KS) | 4 | RB | 5’10” | 212 |
| JUCO 11 | Justin Martin | Northeastern Oklahoma A&M | 4 | CB | 6’2” | 192 |
A former freelance journalist from Nashville, Jason covers Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Kentucky
